China correspondent for Fairfax Media

There could yet be life in Sichuan Hanlong’s drawn-out $1.4 billion takeover bid for Australian iron ore play Sundance Resources.

China’s all-powerful National Development and Reform Commission has extended its provisional approval for the privately-owned Hanlong to proceed by six months, on the condition it teams up with a larger Chinese partner with ‘‘sufficient capability’’ to develop Sundance’s Mbalam project on the Cameroon border with Congo.

In a welcome bit of clarity for shareholders frustrated at the lack of timely information throughout the takeover process – which has dragged on for more than 18 months – Sundance Resources said in a statement to the stock exchange late today that Hanlong must secure the agreement with a large Chinese partner in order for the state-run China Development Bank to commit to funding the takeover.

Hanlong is confident that discussions are advanced enough for a partnership – understood to be with a state-owned enterprise – to be clinched in time for a March 26 deadline. But the group has missed similar deadlines before, including one just last week.

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Under the latest iteration of the takeover scheme timetable, the deal is slated to conclude in May.

But on top of the time required for Hanlong to confirm a deal with a Chinese partner, the deal will also need regulatory approvals from China’s Ministry of Commerce and State Administration of Foreign Exchange, as well as a final tick off from the NDRC.

Shares in Sundance Resources are in a trading halt, last trading at 34¢, a significant discount to the 45¢ offer price.

Sundance investors have been frustrated by the takeover process, which saw Hanlong drop its takeover offer mid-way after commodity prices fell sharply last year.

Hanlong has since struggled to secure funding from the CDB, despite the bank's prominent role in financing Chinese investments in Africa.